Sunday, December 4, 2016

In order to produce heart beat, breaths, energy in the form
of ATP (the list goes on) our body is constantly producing waste, toxic waste*. Good news, our bodies are also constantly eliminating
this waste. as long as Good In = Bad out
all is well and we are in ‘homeostasis”.
But, in most of us, our BAD IN is on the rise. I used to ask my patients how many bowel
movements they had per day, looking for the perfect answer of 2-3 a day, 1
after each meal, and so rarely got it, that I now ask, “How many bowel
movements do you have a week”. With 5
now the norm. Quite literally my
friends, we are now a society that is full of crap.

Why is this the
case? Poor food choices, inflammation,
dysbiosis, slowing down of our metabolism, slowing down of our organ processes,
inefficient elimination pathways producing generally sluggishness. And for those of you thinking, oh, all I need
is a coffee (or a glass of milk…or any substance typically on the ‘food that
causes inflammation and sensitivities list) and I’m as regular as clock work –
think again. That coffee does the trick
because it is irritating the mucous membranes, causing inflammation – so yes,
its helping to some degree, but it is not indicative of a healthy robust
digestive system.

The first step for any wellness program is to create a
healthy digestive track, with a minimum of 2 bowel movements daily, well
formed, no heart burn, or gas, or bloating – even if those things are now ‘common’
doesn’t mean that that in normal.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

We have always known that stress leads to weight grain, and at the very least inability to lose weight. Knowing that cortisol is our body's 'stress hormone' it has taken a big part of the blame so far, but now we can add another stress hormone to the list of culprits - ANGPTL8 or betatrophin.

A new study shows that stress causes a hormone ANGPTL8, also knows as betatrophin to be release. Betatrophin is a protein that regulates fat metabolism by decreasing the expression of a fat fighting enzyme, called adipocyte triglyceride lipase.

Just one more reason that stress management is so important when it comes to weight loss, as are setting realistic expectations. I see so many patients come into my office who are exhausted, stressed out and anxious, but what they want to work on is weight loss.

It's pretty hard to talk someone who is hell bent on trying to lose weight to switch their focus to increasing energy and stress management, but it's all about removing the root cause, and once the root cause is discovered and removed, results will follow.

It also gives one more argument for stress reduction. I have recently started getting my patients to spend a few minutes each day doing HeartMath breathing using the EmWave pro. I first read about HeartMath from an author writing about Weight loss, how he has his patients do heart math breathing before each meal. If you haven't had a chance to do it, come on in to the clinic and give it a try.

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About Me

I truly love what I do.
I love connecting with my patients, and investigating what I can do to
help them reach their health and life goals.

My goal is to identify the BEST treatment method for each
patient, I became a Naturopath not because I feel that ‘natural remedies’ are
the only way (although they usually are the best) but because it gives me a
wider scope of treatment modalities, so my patients and I can come up with the
BEST treatment for them to reach their goals.
Naturopathic doctors recently obtained prescription writes and I
recently wrote a grueling pharmacological prescribing exam, so yes, we have the
knowledge and some prescribing authority if we need to go that route too. To make true progress, all areas must be
addressed, nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, stress, mental and emotional states,
deficiencies, possible blockages – and only Naturopathic doctors have the
training, time and no-how to look at all area.

My Credentials:

Debbie is passionate
about helping people feel amazing, confident and full of energy. Combining her passions – fitness, naturopathy,
and neuroscience, Debbie has a clinical focus on ‘brain health’; with the
majority of her focus on anxiety, depression, pain management, anti-aging and
weight loss. Debbie educates, guides and motivates her patients to success in
feeling their best selves.

Dr. Debbie is a certified Naturopathic doctor,
hypnotherapist, and fitness instructor.
She studied meditation and Buddhism philosophy at Suan Mokkh Monastery in ChiayaThailand, holds annual Yoga and Mind body retreats with her
mentor and mother Wendy Schie, has taken courses in Mindfulness and is
currently working on a Mindfulness and Children’s program. She is an avid lecturer and motivational
speaker, has spoken at the Toronto Yoga show, Markham Thrive show, at numerous
corporate events in the GTA and medical lectures throughout Canada. She is co-founder and Director of
Naturopathic Living, a large multidisciplinary clinic in Markham, Ontario where
she lives with her husband and 2 children.

She was the 2015 winner
of the Markham’s Young entrepreneur ASPIRE award, (http://www.markhamreview.com/Aspiring-others).

Debbie earned her
Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph in Genetics and
Molecular Biology.She worked in North
Carolina’s Research Triangle, as well as in Health Care Communication before
returning to Toronto to complete her studies at the Canadian College of Naturopathic
Medicine.She has studied in Europe and
uses German Medicine ideology in her practice.She is a member of the Markham Stouffville Hospital Leaders group,
Markham Board of Trade, Canadian Association of Naturopathic Medicine, Ontario
Association of Naturopathic medicine, the Unionville BIA, National Guild of
Hypnotherapists, Canadian Fitness Association, the 9th Markham
Guides, helps coach the under 8's Markham Rugby team and is on the Healthy school committee for her children’s
school where she is a regular volunteer.